Hyperscale public clouds are a fixture on the European scene – learn to live with them
Not too long ago, Europe’s cloud providers saw the big American imports as nothing but competition. They were to be challenged at every turn, they were to be dissed at every opportunity, they were to be beaten, stomped upon, and sent packing back across the water.
Only, it didn’t work out that way. Even the most paranoid, isolationist, protectionist, and Europe-ist of customers found reasons to use a bit of AWS, or a bit of Azure, or a bit of Google, or a bit of SoftLayer. They used European providers too, but the polarising rhetoric from so many of those home-grown vendors did them no favours with their customers. Very real issues around data territoriality, or proximity to data centres, or low-latency continent-spanning networks got lost in a sea of FUD and negativity. Customers, largely, stopped hearing the valid arguments, and too often just dismissed the lot as sour grapes, or negative marketing.
Thankfully, things appear to be changing. Europe’s providers of public cloud infrastructure have realised that AWS et al aren’t going away. They’ve realised that their prospective customers want to use these hyperscale clouds too. But, instead of disappearing, European providers are finding ways to integrate their offerings with those of the hyperscale cloud providers. Instead of pushing their products as alternatives to a hyperscale offering, they’re now finding ways to augment and add value.
Done right, (almost) everyone might stand to benefit.
In my latest report, Market Overview: Public Cloud Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS) In The European Market, I take a look at how Europe’s providers of public cloud infrastructure are finding new ways to deliver value to their customers, alongside the hyperscale clouds.